Welcome all film buffs. Enjoy a vast list of both long and short reviews. All reviews posted by myself, Film Critic Jesse Burleson. Also on staff is my colleague and nephew, Film Critic Cole Pollyea. He also has his own blog titled, "ccconfilm.blogspot.com".
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Rating System: ****Stars: A Classic ***Stars: Good **Stars: Fair *Star: Poor No Stars: Terrible, a waste of time.

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Saturday, May 19, 2018

10x 10 2018 * * * Stars

10x 10 is an unrated, tersely compact thriller. As something about a man who confines a woman to a soundproof cell only to find out that she killed his wife, "10" has a torture porn setting without the actual torture porn. Granted, the film could've stretched its running time past a mere 87 minutes for added absorption. Plus, there's a cliched clip of the authorities showing up conveniently after the final confrontation goes down. Nevertheless, 10x 10 leaves you torn and nomadic on which gender to root for. It serves up its transient premise in creepy and effective fashion.

"10" stars Luke Evans as the wealthy kidnapper and Kelly Reilly as the one being kidnapped. Evans is a tad wooden as Lewis when he is mourning his dead spouse through past home videos and random news footage. Reilly outmatches him as Cathy. She channels a sense of raw fear and raw distress as a would-be, bible-thumping criminal. Cathy and Lewis go at each other mano-a-mano and bloodied cat and mouse. They give 10x 10 the feel of being a violent, ungovernable, and unsettling affair.

Director Suzi Ewing (she helms mostly shorts) makes "10" atmospheric and woodsy in a Hostel/Human Centipede sort of way. She even uses a few long shots when the main damsel in distress is letting out shrill screams. Don't be fooled though. Ewing's narrative is wholly original and not really in the realm of horror fare. 10x 10 in totality, is more psychologically intentioned as opposed to psychotically intentioned. With a minuscule cast, minimal locations, and personas that have a high threshold for pain (and appetite for that matter), it's a low budget character study that's almost "ten"fold. My rating: 3 stars.

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Jesse Burleson

My name is Jesse Burleson and I have a love for film. I've been reviewing movies on and off since 2003 (my first writing gig was for my company newsletter) and it is my pleasure to share my views (good or bad) with you. My work is featured in this blog and ccconfilm.blogspot.com. I also have a vast amount of reviews posted in the audience sections of Rotten Tomatoes, the audience/critic sections of IMDb, and MovieSnackx.com. And in addition to having over 250 of them posted online, I am also featured on YouTube with a host of video chats of older and newer films as well.

I was born and grew up in St. Joseph, Michigan. Now I am based out of Chicago, Illinois. The first film I ever saw was Star Wars in 1977. I was only three and my father took me to a drive-in theater to see it. My favorite film of all time is Boogie Nights followed by Aliens, Apocalypse Now, E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, Pulp Fiction, Se7en, and The Shawshank Redemption. Thank you for viewing my site and feel free to comment on any of the reviews. My blog is viewed all over the world and I'm grateful to all of the readers who have made a visit. Thanks again and as always, happy movie going!